Pride Month: Leading With #LoveandPride

By Brian M. Wong, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Years before I came to PG&E, I was a partner in a national law firm. One day, I was called to a firmwide meeting where the leadership team announced they would consolidate some of our people from bigger cities like San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York City to Nashville, Tenn.

The home of the Grand Ole Opry has many wonderful things and welcoming people. However, Tennessee law isn’t particularly friendly to LGBTQ+ people with families, such as myself.

Brian Wong, his husband Scott (right) and their sons Damien (lower left) and Julian.

This was before the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision that brought marriage equality to the whole country, and so my LGBTQ+ coworkers who were married or had children in their hometowns might not have been recognized as a family under Tennessee state law. For instance, they could’ve lost the right to inherit from one another or make medical decisions for their children.

I decided to speak up in that partner meeting. If LGBTQ+ coworkers relocated, I asked, had we thought about what that meant for their families?

After the meeting, the chief HR officer asked me to lead an effort to make sure our coworkers’ concerns were addressed and their rights protected as much as we could. We worked with a national LGBTQ+ rights organization and hired local counsel to advise on how best to preserve their rights.

Because we made sure all of our coworkers’ families would be protected, not only did our coworkers feel safe moving to Nashville, the firm became known as a place where you could bring your whole self to work and attracted a diverse and talented workforce.

The theme for PG&E’s celebration of Pride Month this June is leading with #LoveandPride, and I’m reminded of this moment from earlier in my career as an example of how we can stand up for each other. Today, I’m proud to work for a company where all coworkers will be appreciated and respected in a safe atmosphere for speaking up and bringing their whole selves to work. PG&E stands behind our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as a critical pathway to achieving our purpose and our commitments.

Pride Month is a time for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to celebrate our many accomplishments. Our Pride Network Employee Resource Group will have numerous online events for our coworkers. We’ll be marching in the Fresno Pride Parade on June 4 and in Sacramento’s Pride Parade on June 12.

And on June 26, we’re excited to march up Market Street at the SF Pride Parade after a two-year pause due to the pandemic. Even though our corporate offices have moved to Oakland, we’re proud to continue our participation as we were the first corporate sponsor of the parade.

As PG&E’s corporate secretary, I have the privilege of leading the team that welcomes our shareholders to our annual meeting. At this year’s May meeting in San Ramon, a shareholder urged our PG&E Corporation CEO Patti Poppe to drop the company’s “extreme LGBTQ+ support.” She replied, “We believe in leading with love. All people are welcomed here, and we will continue to support and welcome all people here.”

Nothing speaks louder about leading with #LoveandPride than knowing your CEO comes to work every day to show our coworkers that being yourself is safe and will be respected and appreciated.

Happy Pride Month, everyone!